Artist

Thomas Sayre

Raleigh, North Carolina

Date Installed

2021

Medium

Colored concrete

Artist Website

www.thomassayre.com

Location

Western Branch: between Guilford Avenue and West Friendly Avenue

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Made Possible By

The Cemala Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts

Description

This monumental earthcasting by Thomas Sayre springs from a recognition of this unique place in Greensboro, both as an urban wetland and the site of its first cotton warehouse. Cairns are often used on trails to mark place by stacking local stones to form vertical markers. Here, the stones were formed in earth cast molds dug into the adjacent land across the College Branch Stream. Replete with the colors, textures, and artifacts of the land, these cairns call attention to and mark the renewal of the waterway, which is also home to the surprising array of aquatic life depicted in the surrounding terrazzo stepping stones.